Read Online Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Kelly by Fiona Lowe - Free Book Online Page B

Mancala,’ Max boasted.
    ‘Daddy, you want me to go to ballet school, don’t you?’ Ruby’s beguiling voice and matching smile made Kelly see fast into the future. Men wouldn’t stand a chance.
    ‘How about breakfast in front of the TV this morning?’ Grant said, ruffling the kids’ hair.
    ‘Yay!’ The twins grabbed their plates and, purposely not looking at Kelly, ran from the kitchen while the going was good.
    Indignation surged through her. Even when she stuck to the routine, mornings were chaos without adding cartoons into the mix. She hated how Grant did this sort of thing because the twins saw him as the fun parent and his many understandable absences meant she was often the disciplining parent. Just like she’d be in fifteen minutes when he left for work and she had to get the twins out the door to school.
    She lost control of her barely-leashed frustration. ‘Grant, what are you thinking? It’s a school morning.’
    He didn’t say a word, but instead caught her gently by the elbow and propelled her into the large walk-in pantry and out of earshot of the twins. Memories rushed her—Grant ushering her quickly into the supply room, shutting the door, pulling her close and crushing his mouth against hers.
    A wave of delicious and glorious heat hit her and she looked up into his handsome face. Despite always wearing a hat, his skin was tanned from the outback sun, giving him a healthy glow that almost yelled, you want my DNA, baby . Today he was freshly shaved, which emphasised his square jaw and his prominent cheekbones.
    Her fingers buzzed despite the fact they’d touched his face thousands of times before. Not that they’d done much touching lately but that was about to change right this second—she could feel it in every part of her. Her eyes sought his and her lips parted in anticipation of seeing the matching desire in his bluer-than-blue gaze.
    Nope. Desire was absent. In its place was the scorching heat of anger, which immediately extinguished the flicker of her arousal as fast as a flame starved of oxygen.
    ‘You bought a vibrator?’ Grant’s tone was quiet, low and accusatory.
    A swoop of guilt rushed her from head to toe. Not guilt from buying the toy—never that—but guilt that she’d hidden it from him as if it was a secret. A second later her own anger flared. ‘Hang on. What were you doing rifling through my sock drawer?’
    ‘Looking for my socks. None of them are in my drawer.’
    ‘Ruby and Max made sock puppets,’ she said automatically as if it was oddly necessary to account for his missing socks and that was when it hit her. This was the perfect segue to lead her into what she’d been trying to talk to him about for weeks. ‘I bought the vibrator because it’s designed for solo and couple use. I thought it might be … you know—’ she shrugged, ‘—fun for both of us.’
    He snorted, the sound harsh and derisive. ‘We don’t need a vibrator.’
    She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. ‘That’s true. To use it together, we’d have to actually have sex.’
    A muscle jerked in his cheek. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. We have sex.’
    ‘Are you serious?’ Incredulity made her throw out her hands. ‘Do you know how long it’s been since we last had sex?’
    ‘I don’t keep a diary.’ He ground out the words in a tone that the children would recognise as a do not cross line.
    Nausea rolled her gut and then the sickening wave washed into every part of her. She’d never expected those words from the man who’d once flown 1800 kilometres from Mount Isa to Brisbane for a two-hour visit just because he hadn’t seen her in nine days. A man who, on the way to the motel from the airport, had held the wheel of the car with one hand and used the fingers of his other hand to stroke her until she was slick and wet and begging. She’d climaxed at a set of traffic lights and he’d captured her scream with his mouth. How could he stand here now and say he